Transportation machinery



Aug. 1'1 1926.

Filed April 4 1925 I 5. Sheets-Sheet R m M w HM W a rwm m MN m wm 9% a kd NQ 0 Q Hv \m 0 20 hm N h% H @N mm mm 3 s aw mm" E R. L. CALLAHANTRANSPORTATION MACHINERY Filed pril 4, 19 25 5 Sheets-Sheet. 2

Aug. 17 1926.

R. L. CALLAHAN TRANSPORTATION MACHINERY 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FiledApril 4 122;. min/ma,

Aug. 17, 1926.

R. L. CALLAHAN TRANSPORTATION MACHINERY Filed pril 4, 1925 5Sheets-Sheet 4 Aug. 17 1926.

k 1,596,803 CALLAHAN v 1925" 5 She ets- Sheet 5 the loadin cars.

to provide drive means for Patented Aug. 17, 1926.

Roster LEE CALLAHAN, or LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

1,596,803 rice.

TRANSPORTATION. MACHINERY.

Applicatioii filea'a rn 4, 1925. Seria.1 No. 20,766;

The present invention relates to improvements in transportationmachinery, and more particularly refers to an improved conveyor foruseparticularly in connection with g and unloading of railway box To thisend, an object of the invention is to provide an apparatus embo'dying'aconveyor for the purpose of moving goods 1n or out o'f the car from thecenter side door to either end'thereof; and'at the same time theconveyor adapted to shift'the conveyor back and forth, whereby theconveyor may retreat as the goods are stacked in the ends of the cars ormay be moved forward from the center toward the car ends, as themerchandise is re- 7 moved therefrom.

The invention has for its further object to provide aconveyorand"co-ord1nate drlve mechanism, which will not only operate theconveyor for the purpose of transferring the goods from one end of saidconveyor to the other, but will also act to shlft the coni veyor bodilyin and out of the car and cause it to advance or retire accordingly asgoods are being withdrawn or loaded into said car.

\Vith the foregoing and other objects in" view, the invention will bemore fully described'hereinafter, a'nd'will be more particularly pointedout in the claims appended hereto. I

In the drawings,

fer to like"or'corresponding parts through- ,out the several views:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an improved transportation machineconstructed according to the present invention;

Figure 2is anenlarged plan view of the drive mechanism;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary vertical sectiontaken through the device withparts broken away;

Figure '4 is a side ele'vat mechanism; V I

Figure 5 is a transverse section on a magnified scale taken through thedeviceon'th'e line 5-5 in Fig.1;

Figure 6 is a cross-section of the frame work taken on the line 6'6,also in Fig. 1;

Figure 7 is a cross-section taken on the line 7-"7 in Fig.

Figure 8. is a cross-section taken throughthe pulley at an angle of tothat of 7, Figure 9 1s a diagrammatic view showing,

the machine applied to use in a box car;

wherein like symbols reion of the drive Figure. 10 is portion of theconveying machinery frame;

F lgu're 11 1s a top plan view on anenlarged scale of the conveyor,

plan view on a much mag- Figure 12 is a nified scale of the conveyorcleat; and

Figure 13 is a section taken on theline 13- s in Fig. 12.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the device embodies an,endless conveyor and a frame for supporting the same,

a side elevation of the end comprising the side rails 14 and 15,, whichI extend in parallel and appropriately spaced relation, andare alsopreferably curved, as indicated in Figs. 9 and 11, for the purposeofenabling the conveyor to pass through the side center opening 16 ofthe freight or railway boxcar, indicated'at 17in Fig. 9. r

The siderails 14 and 15 may be connected together at appropriate pointsb the crossbars 18 shown in Fig. 6, and tli ends of'saidrails 14 and15are connected by the end The side rails 14 and 15 are supported uponthe legs 21 and 22 mounted in pairs near the end portions of the guardor handle rails 19' and.20.,

rails and being preferably connectedby the transverse braces e opposite23 shown in Fig. 6. The legs a-realso preferably reinforced by the'diagonalbraces 24, shown in. Fig, 1, as. connected. between the lowerportions of the legs andend portions of therails l4 and'l5.arepreferably of tubular metal to admit of the telescoping therein ofthe shanks 25 .carrying the rollers or casters 26, upon which theconveyor as a whole may roll into and;

out of the box .car or other placewhere the loading or unloading is tobe effected; Set screws 27 are threaded into the'tubular legs in order.to take against the shanks 25 of. the casters and hold same at theadjusted elevation.

As shown iirFigsi' 'l and 5 particularly, the side rails 14 and 15 serveto support at suitable inter 28 aud29,being tied together centrally bythe lateral braces or connecting bars 30 and having Sland 32'at theirupper'endsfor carrying vals the posts or standards the companion spacedand parallel channel 3 bars 33 and 34; and said posts 28 and29.

The legs 21 and 22 v pairs of inwardly extending arms I further havingnear their lower port-ions similar 4 for supporting the lower pa r ofchannel inwardly. extending arms. 35 and'BG i l 10 beams" 3'? and 38.The channels of thebeanis,

' extend outwardly and the upper pair of channel beams is spacedequi-distantly above the center transverse braces 30, as compared withthe distance the lower set of channel beams 37 and 38 are set below saidbrace 30. The channel beams are arranged with their channel portionsoutwardly and a space is left between the channel beams for the passagerespectively of the upper and lower run of the endless conveyor. Theupper and lower pair of channels are connected at their end portions,asindicated in Figs. 1 and 10 by the curved or rounded chan nel sections39, thus forming continuous or i I ers, also on account of their heightabove the cable and spool serve as excellent supendless tracks 'for themovement of the rollers of the conveyor, as hereinafter explained. P

Now, the conveyor itself. consists of the endless cable 40 carried bythe end pulleys 41 and 42 having the grooved peripherles 43 as shown inFig. 7 and being mounted upon thetransverse shafts 44.' The shaft 44, asshown in Figs. 7 and 10, 1s ournaled in the plates 45 and 46 supportedby the metallic or other straps 47 and 48, which have their upper andlower ends respectively bent into the channel portions of said upper andlower pairs of channel beams, to which they are secured as by the rivets49. Shoulders 50 are provided by the bending of the 'parts'as juststated, and such shoulder; will form in addition to the rivet asupporting means for theshaftand other parts,

and will take the strain off the rivets.

The pulleys 41, as shown in Figs. 1 and 8, are preferably in the form,of a cross, as viewed from side elevation. j In other words, the pulleysare notcontinuous as to their peripheries, but are provided with thecut-out portions 51. f As shown in Figs. 7 and 10, one projecting end ofthe shaft 44is provided with a flat bottomed notch 52 to receive thestraight edge of the latch 53 V 54 to one supporting plate 45. Then thelatch is in the lowered positionshown in Fig. 10, obviously the shaft 52will be prevented from rotating,and the conveyor can not be driven, asthe pulleys 41 and 42 p are fixed tightly to their shafts 44. In I'wheel 87, disposed inmesh with the pinion this condition, the drivemechanism for the conveyor is adapted to move the entire conveyor andits support inwardly or outward- V diagonally extending angle bars 90and 91,

diate body portions of the spools V are adapted to receive thetransverse straps 60 and 61 secured above and below the; spool and beingprovided with pairsrofside rollers'62 and 53 to roll on vertical axesand against the inner faces of the channel beams 33, 34, 37 and 38. 'Theouter ends of the pivoted at said frames and 7 6.

transverse straps 60 and 61 are formed into the substantially U-shapedstirrups 64 and 65 to accommodate the rollers 66 and 67 journaled onsubstantially horizontal axes and disposed in rolling contact with thefrom vibrating laterallyor getting out of a proper central'positionbetween the beams.

The straps64, besides supporting the rollports for the cleats 68, whichmay be made in the formshown in Fig. 11, or other form as desired. Thesecleats or the reduced ends thercofcare riveted or otherwise secured tothe straps. The -cleats maybe depressed centrally, as shown in Fig. 5,to better support and holdthe load indicated in dotted 2 lines at 69 in5. The goods are represented as in the form ofv sacks, although theconveyor is adapted to the transportation of any merchandise. Rails 7 Oand 71 having tapering inner edges 72 are supported above the posts orstandards 28 and 29 and run longitudinally of the, conveyor for thepurpose of supporting the outer portion of the sack 69.. I

The conveyor is'driven by the mechanism mounted upon the platform 73disposed for movement on the rollers or casters 74. The

platform is provided withspaced frames 75 and 7G, shown-in Figs. 1 and5, having the vertically adjustable bearings7 7 and 78 for the shaft 79;appropriate adjusting screws 80 and 81 being arranged to engagethe upperand'lower portions of the blocks to lift and lower the same. The shaft 79 extends at one side beyond the bearing block 77, where itcarrlesfixedly the sprocket 82 driven by achain 83, shown moreparticularly in Fig.4. This chain also engages at its other-end thesprocket 84 on the counter @shaft '85. This counter shaft is journalledin appropriate bearings 86, shown more particularly in Fig. 2,-andcarries the gear 88 of the electric or other motor 89.

The frames 75 and 7 6 serve to support the ing of the rails 14 and 15 ofthe conveyor support, whereby said grooved wheels 95 and-96 may engagethe under sidesof said railsto guide the movement of the carriage 73back and forth beneath the conveyor, and conversely toguide the conveyorrail supports back and forth on nism.

said from the electric or other motor 89, is disposed a driving wheelfOfCOIIllllg in contact with the spools of the conveyor for the purposeof driving said conveyor. This drive wheel is composed of a pair ofspiders 97 and 98, shown in Figs. 2, 8 and 5' particularly, held spacedapart by sleeve 99 on the shaft between said spiders. These spiders havepreferably fourradiating arms, as indicated in Fig. 3, and upon theouter ends of these arms are'rotatably supported pairs of rotary discsor wheels- 100 and 101, spaced apart torstraddle the:

conveyor cable 4-0 and having suitably beveled inner edges 102 toconform substan tially to the oppositely and reversely. curved portions58 and 59 of the spool heads agalnst which these discs are arranged toengage 1n the act of driving the spools and incidentally the conveyorcable. The angular distance between the spider arms will correspondsubstantially "to the linear distance between adjacent spools on theconveyor cable, whereby on the rotation of the shafts 79 and drive wheelthe pairs of rotary discs 100 and 101 will be brought successively intothe subsequently presented spaces between spools, whereby said discs mayengage. behind the spool heads, for the purpose of urgingthe spoolsforwardly;

The electric motor may be otthe reven sible type or provision may bemadefor effecting the rotation of the drive wheel in either direction, sothat the conveyor may be driven forwardly or reversed, as desired.

In the use of the'device, the drive wheel is rotated as explained, thediscs 100 and 101 coming in contact with the spools and advancing same.The sacks of material indicated at 69 in Fig. 5 are placed upon theconveyor at one end, for instance the end outside of the car, shown inFig. 9, and when these sacks arrive at the inner end of the conveyor,they are automatically dumped or may be lifted by hand and stacked inthe car end. As the car becomes loaded, it is necessary to withdraw theconveyor gradually to admit of the piling of the goods in the car. Thismovement of the conveyor is also accomplished by the drive mechanism.The latch 53 in Fig. 10 moved to the position shown in Fig. 10 to engagethe notch in the shaft 44, thus preventing the rotation of the shaft orthe movement of the conveyor about its pulleys 4:1 and 4-2. The wheels74 of the carriage 73 are blocked, and on rotation of the drive wheel,the entire conveyor mechanism will be shifted back and forth inaccordance with the direction of rotation of the drive wheel, the entirethe drive mecha I l 1 which engage the side On theshaft 7 9, which isdriven-as atomthe spacing.

mechanism sliding on the casters 26 and being guided in its movement bythe grooved wheels 95 and 96 of the drive mechanism,

rails 14 and 15.

When the conveyoris shifted to the new position, the latch 53 is raisedand the wheels 26 may be blocked, thus permitting the drive wheel toresume the driving of the endless conveyor. The conveyor is movable uponthe arc of movement indicated by the full and dotted lines in F 9, sothat in the loading of goods into the car, the conveyor may be graduallywithdrawn outwardly through the door 16. In case goods are to beunloaded from the car at its destination, the conveyor is shiftedinwardly from time to time, as the goods are removed in front of it..The conveyor may be placed alternately in both ends of the car, andeither end of the conveyor may be first inserted.

The conveyor shown is arranged on the are of a circle, as it will bemost convenient to embody thedevice in this form for use in connectionwith box car loading and unload ing, but it will be understood that thedevice maybe made in other forms to adapt its use in other connections.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in thedetails of construction and design of the above specifically describedembodin'ient of this invention, without departing from the spiritthereof, suchchanges and'modifications being'restricted only by thescope of the following elaimsz What is claimed is:

1 A transportation machine comprising a shiftable ground support,conveying means moving with respect to said support and movable bodilywith the support, and coordinate drive means for both driving saidconveyor with respect to the support when said support is stationary andfor shifting the conveyor and support bodily.

2. Transportation machine comprising shiftable drive means, an elongatedcurved ground support shiftable with respect to said drive means, and aconveyor arranged to be driven by said drive means and also to beshifted bodily by said drive means together with said support.

8. Transportation machinery comprising an endless conveyor, a wheeledsupport for the conveyor, means whereby the conveyor may be securedagainst movement on said wheeled support, and drive means for engagingwith said conveyor to drive the same while the support is held againstmovement and also acting to shift the conveyor and the wheeled supportbodily when said means is engaged.

1. Transportation machinery comprising an elongated wheeled support, anendless conveyor mounted on said support to move therewith, means to fixthe conveyor against n1ovement with reference to the support, a drivingcarriage movably mounted beneath the conveyor and having guide meansmovable along said support, said drive means having a drive wheel forengaging with said conveyor.

5. Transportation machinery comprisin an endless conveyor, an elongatedwheele supporting means therefor, means to secure the conveyor againstendless travel, a wheeled carriage beneath said conveyor having guiderollers for engaging with said support, and a drive wheel on saidWheeled carriage for directly engaging the conveyor.

6. Transportation machinery comprising a conveyor including an endless 7cable, spools thereon having rounded heads, pairs of pivoted discsadapted to enter the spaces between adjacent spools and to engage therounded ends of said spools at opposite sides of the cable, said discshaving beveled edges to conform to the rounded heads of the spools, andmeans to revolve said discs.

7. Transportation machinery comprising a conveyor including an endlesscable, spools thereon, straps secured to said spools, rollers carried bysaid straps, beams at the sides of the cable engaged by said rollers,other rollers of said straps engaging the edges of said beams, cleatssecured to said straps, and means for engaging the ends of the spools todrive the conveyor.

8. Transportation machinery comprising a frame member and upper andlower pairs of beams carried by said frame, an endless cable movablebetween said beams, means foriguiding the movement of the cable betweensaid beams, cleats movable with said cable for supporting the goods atthe center parts thereof, rails carried by said frame substantiallyparallel with said cable and spaced from said beams for receiving theouter portions of said goods, and means for driving the conveyor.

'9. A transportation machine comprising an elongated ground supportmovable back and forth over the ground, an endless conveyor carried withsaid ground support, means for locking said conveyor against movement,and a carriage separate and distinct from said; round support movablymounted beneath said ground support and adapted to be held stationarythereunder, and a power wheel on said carriage adapted to strike partsof the conveyor for moving, the same or, when said conveyor is lockedagainst movement, for shifting the combined conveyor and ground supportover theground. V i

10. A transportation machine comprising an elongated wheeled groundsupport shiftable freely back and forth over the ground, an endlessconveyor carried by said support, means for locking the conveyor againstmovement, a power carriage independent of said ground support and placedbeneath the same, guide means on said carriage cooperating with saidsupport, and a'power wheel on said carriage meshing with said conveyorfor driving the same and, when said conveyor is locked against movement,for shifting the entire ground support and conveyor alon the ground.

ROBTiRT LEE CALLAIIALN. V

